midomi

Heard about this a few weeks back in a SecondCast podcast, but I finally tried it out just tonight. Midomi is a fun website that allows you to sing (or hum) bits of a song, and it searches its database to find matches. It's harder than you think, though -- so far it's only recognized my singing "Happy Birthday to You" and "Friday I'm in Love". You'll get strange looks from your spouse, but it's worth it. Hours of fun!

Memory

Over the past couple of days, I've been listening to a four-part audio-series about memory. How it works, why it doesn't work, and what makes our memories act screwy. It's all really amazing. (That being said, Cognition was one of my favorite classes in school.)


Part 1: What is memory?

Part 2: The fallibility of memory

Part 3: Memories in distress

Part 4: Treatments

Be careful, though. As with reading medical books about various illnesses, you might find yourself trying to label your own memory issues, as I did.

Google Cheat Sheet

I found this recently and thought it was interesting. Someone took the time to create a cheat sheet for all the numerous Google services and tools.
Click the images below to download the pdf.

Roy gets a Second Life

Welcome all to the newest avatar ... well, he was the newest avatar on Saturday when he signed up -- ladies and gentlemen -- Roytoo Grut!


(Vicki also got a SL account on Saturday, but I have yet to snap a picture of Ms. WhosA Lusch.)

Really good joke

My friend Milena sent this to me recently, and I thought it was too hilarious not to blog about. HOWEVER... I must warn you, this is *not* something you'd tell your kids. Enjoy!

(Highlight the text below to read...)

Subject: Who is Jack Schitt?

For some time many of us have wondered just who is Jack Schitt? We find ourselves at a loss when someone says,'You don't know Jack Schitt!'

Well, thanks to my genealogy efforts, you can now respond in an intellectual way.

Jack Schitt is the only son of Awe Schitt. Awe Schitt, the fertilizer magnate, married O. Schitt, the owner of Needeep N. Schitt, Inc. They had one son, Jack. In turn, Jack Schitt married Noe Schitt. The deeply religious couple produced six children: Holie Schitt, Giva Schitt, Fulla Schitt, Bull Schitt, and the twins Deep Schitt and Dip Schitt. Against her parents' objections, Deep Schitt married Dumb Schitt, a high school dropout. After being married 15 years, Jack and Noe Schitt divorced. Noe Schitt later married Ted Sherlock, and because her kids were living with them, she wanted to keep her previous name. She was then known as Noe Schitt Sherlock. Meanwhile, Dip Schitt married Loda Schitt, And they produced a son with a rather nervous disposition named Chicken Schitt. Two of the other six children, Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt were inseparable throughout childhood and subsequently married the Happens brothers in a dual ceremony. The wedding announcement in the newspaper announced the Schitt-Happens nuptials. The Schitt-Happens children were Dawg, Byrd, and Horse. Bull Schitt, the prodigal son, left home to tour the world. He recently returned from Italy with his new Italian bride, Pisa Schitt.

Now when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt,'you can correct them.

Sincerely,
Crock O. Schitt

Across the Universe

I'd heard about this a while back when Bono signed on to play a small role, but I'd forgotten about it. Today I stumbled across the trailer for the upcoming musical "Across The Universe". I'm intrigued. I love the Beatles. (I have to. It's genetic. Had my Mom had the chance, she would have traveled great distances and slept outside of arenas to see them. Sound familiar?)

A love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock 'n roll, the film moves from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. The star-crossed lovers, Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), along with a small group of friends and musicians, are swept up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with "Dr. Robert" (Bono) and "Mr. Kite" (Eddie Izzard) as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy – against all odds – to find their own way back to each other.

Death Of A Snowman

The recent frigid temperature reminded me that I had some pictures Roy wanted me to post. A couple of weeks ago, it snowed enough to make a few decent snowballs. Since I was sick that day and couldn't go out and play, on his way upstairs, Roy filled his thermos with enough snow to make a snowman or two.



Sadly, however, it was a little too warm in the house for our snowmen to survive. So Roy, being the sicko that he is, had me take periodic pictures of the melting of our two friends. Out of the 55 pictures we took (I kid you not), here are a few of the highlights.






*sniff*

Keepin' It Real - (Messy) Virtual Desktops

In an effort to create a more realistic desktop, the Bumptop Prototype enables users to pile, crumple, fan-out, and even fold the corners of documents and files. It's a very interesting demo... but I can see how my virtual desktop could very easily become just as messy as my real one.

The Perfect Man

One of my Valentine's gifts Roy gave me this year is called "The Perfect Man".
Click to view a larger image.




I got a kick out of the serving size.

A Valentine's Poem

(I know this is a day late...) My pal Nathan Fillion (he *must* be my pal -- he accepted me as one of his myspace friends :P) posted this yesterday. I liked the poem so much I had to share.

A Valentine's Poem

If I were a mountain, I'd be so grand and tall.
My glaciated head made up of rock and mineral.
My massive slopes would spiral down and plant me on the earth.
The trees and bugs would gaze at me, to marvel at my girth.

And if I were an ocean, a large pool of reeking brine-
All the fish and squid and zoplankton would be close friends of mine.
They'd swim by on a Sunday afternoon and say, "Hello."
But I'd see them all the time, for I'd be everywhere they go.

But if I was a flatworm, with a tail so slick and long.
I'd have correlated eye-spots as cerebral ganglion.
Would I while away the hours- eating microbes, dirt, and spores?
Or would my mean old flatworm grandma have me doing flatworm chores?

But I am not a mountain, or an ocean, or a worm.
Were you to glance at my ID, I'm sure it'd be confirmed.
And underneath "Corrective Lenses", in print so small and fine-
It's written by the DMV, that I'm your Valentine.

-- by Jason Mestinsek

Crazy Performance @ the Grammys

While I was very excited and impressed by the Police's performance at the Grammys, I was completely blown away by Gnarls Barkley's performance of their hit song "Crazy". I watched it a couple of times trying to figure out who the guy's voice reminded me of was, then it hit me -- Otis Redding! Anyway, loved the performance. Hope you do, too!

Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us

Can you trust your mind?

Can you trust your mind?
How good are you when it comes to concentration and perception?
Here is a cool experiment where you can test you ability to focus attention on a certain object in a short video.

Roooooooxanne!

Wow! The Police played the Grammy's last night, reuniting for the first time (I think) since the 80s when the group broke up. Great performance!

I'm waiting on someone to post the video of Gnarls Barkley's performance, which was *awesome*!

9 Things that Non-Tech Savvy People Do That Annoy (Us) Geeks

This digg find was too funny not to blog about. View the original post with more information here. Link doesn't work? (Try this one.)

1. Microsoft Word is the application for everything.
   
2. Incorrect Aspect Ratios
   
3. Everything Must Be Double Clicked.
   
4. Getting a faster computer will speed up the internets.
   
5. I won a trip to the Bahamas!
   
6. Your desktop wallpaper is NOT your screensaver.
   
7. NO, I DON’T want to fix your cousin’s brother’s uncle’s 10 year old computer.
   
8. The Non-Tech Savvy Geek
   
9. Why can’t I open this file on my floppy disk?

*sigh*

More geek fun!

Ok, combine this with the face morphing (see previous post) with SecondTalk with Second Life. I'm drooling!

Morphable 3D Faces

How long before this becomes part of the virtual worlds we're playing with? My avatar may some day have my actual face.

The end is near...

As you've probably already hear, Book 7 of the HP series -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- is scheduled to come out on July 21st. (If you've glanced over at the "currently reading..." and "recently read... sections of the sidebar of my blog, you'll notice that I'm in the process of re-reading all of the Harry Potter books ... and creating my own little HP library as a result.)

I have mixed feelings about this:

• Dread - JKR has said that two characters are going to be killed in this book.
• Glee - Another Harry Potter book! Yeah!
• Dread - JKR has already said this is it. No more HP. No spin-off series. The end.
  
• Curiousity - There are so many theories out there. Which, if any, are true???
• Dread - It's like reaching the end of a really, really good book, but double-triple-quintuple that!

Thankfully, the release date is a Saturday, meaning that all of us Muggles can hunker down for the weekend and seclude ourselves away from work, family, and friends. This'll be the first time I actually purchase the book when it comes out. (I *do not* want to have the ending spoiled by anyone!) I'm sure most everyone else who's ever picked up a Potter book will be doing the same. Looks like Book 7 will blow away any previous publication records set.

I am very much looking forward to going out and braving the release parties at the local book stores. (Roy and I were dating when he offered to come with me to see the Book 5 release mania. He quickly turned me down when I asked if he wants to join me this coming July.) This'll be the last time folks can don their witch's hats, capes, and magic wands. And I'll be there with my camera to capture it!

Do you see something wrong with this?

This past weekend, Roy was about to fill out the registration card that came with our new washer, and he noticed something strange about the "three easy ways" listed.

Click the image below to see the larger view.

The Police Reunite!

Holy Moly! The rumors are true! The Police are reuniting to open the Grammy Awards this year. This will be great! ... *if* Sting, Stewart, and Andy can behave themselves and not start fighting before the show. (Have you seen the VH1 Legends show on them? They're like brothers - they literally have fist fights!) So ... I have my DVR set and anxiously wait for February 11! (*Plus* the show will be hosted by my friend and yours, Mr. Stephen Colbert!)

Conferences! Conferences!

I love my field b/c at least once a year, we get to go to a conference and stay in a fancy hotel (paid for by the school!) and hang out with fellow edtech geeks. In March, my co-workers and I are staying at the Moody Gardens Hotel down in Galveston to attend the TxDLA conference. Then in May, if our proposals are accepted, we're going to the IOL conference in Austin.

Speaking of proposals, I figured I'd post the abstracts.

TxDLA

• Virtual Environments: The Evolution of Online Learning?
  Abstract: Virtual environments offer students the ability to interact with their class in a 3-D setting. Realistic Learning environments can be created where students can explore and manipulate learning materials, and collaborate with other students via avatars. This presentation will demonstrate some educational uses of the virtual world “Second Life”.
  (View complete Virtual Environments proposal here.)
  
  
• Using Respondus Tool to Create and Manage Online Quizzes
  Abstract: Respondus is a handy tool for creating, publishing and managing quizzes/surveys for online courses. This session will provide faculty and supporting staff a hands-on experience to get to know about this tool and learn how to actually create and publish a quiz to an online course site using the tool.
  (View complete Respondus proposal here.)

IOL

• Cutting Edge Innovations in Online Learning: Web 2.0 For Everybody
  Abstract: With the emergence of Web 2.0, educators have a plethora of online tools, such as Skype, Odeo, and Slideshare, which encourage collaboration and the sharing of ideas. This showcase will demonstrate several of these tools and give participants ideas on how to apply them to their educational setting.
  (View complete Web 2.0 proposal here.)
  
  
• We're in Second Life! From Brainstorming to Begging to Building
  Abstract: From idea to implementation, our journey into the virtual world of Second Life. This presentation will cover the UTD School of Management's approach to developing a virtual island in Second Life -- from the proposal process to planning and design to lessons learned.
  (View complete Second Life proposal here.)

I'm a podcast junkie

Apparently I was a good girl last year, b/c "Santa" got me a very cool Creative Zen Vision M mp3 player. I immediately set to filling the 30Gb with my music, as well as explore the world of podcasts I'd heard so much about. Now, six weeks later, I am proud to admit that I am podcast junkie. Below is a list of podcasts I listen to regularly.

• WNYC's Radio Lab - Wonderfully geeky seasonal hour-long show on NPR. My favorite podcast ... when it's available. I highly recommend it.
  
  
• SecondCast - A really good (although sometimes NSFW) podcast about all things Second Life.
  
  
• Wait! Wait! Don't tell Me! - My favorite weekly show from NPR. Very funny look at the week's news in a quiz-show-ish style.
  
  
• Metaverse Sessions - Another podcast where there are only nine shows available from early 2006, but they're worth a listen. Very interesting view on the future of the metaverse and virtual worlds.
  
  
• Who's on Second - An ok podcast on the educational/non-profit presence in Second Life. It's kind of slow, and the host almost puts you to sleep, but his guests are interesting and the questions are good.
  
  
• NPR Technology - Yeah, I'm a geek, and this is my weekly fix.
  
  
• PRI's The World Technology Report - ditto
  
  
• 7th Son Podcast Novel

Other podcasts on my list to try out are Second Life Podcast, PBS's NerdTV, and NOVA. Love it!